When we released our first 2014 Pittsburgh Steelers mock draft two months ago, we knew the NFL Scouting Combine might shuffle the draft board. What we didn’t know is that the Steelers would be uncharacteristically active in free agency. So far they’ve signed seven players who were with other teams last season. That’s more players …

The Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t going out like lambs this March. In recent years, the Steelers have bid a reluctant farewell to some of their most iconic veterans. They’ve said their share of goodbyes this March, as well, but no one’s shedding any tears. Rather, the water is flowing from the splash the Steelers have made …

Now that Emmanuel Sanders is gone, the Pittsburgh Steelers must retire the No. 88. Not because Sanders deserves the honor, but rather because that uniform number is cursed. Those digits seem to weave their way into Steelers misfortune whenever they get together. Isn’t it fitting that Sanders signed with the Denver Broncos, of all teams, …

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ salary-cap noose, which had been tight enough to choke even the most pencil-thin neck, is a whole lot more comfortable now that the NFL has increased the cap to $133 million. That’s $10 million more than last season and nearly $7 million more than the projection. This is the Steelers’ biggest stroke …

No matter how much anyone’s stock rose at the 2014 NFL Scouting Combine, all the players at the top of the Steelers board remain within their reach in the 2014 NFL draft. Sure, not everyone among Mike Evans, Justin Gilbert, Darqueze Dennard, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Calvin Pryor and Louis Nix will be available when the …

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ two-year playoff absence is their longest since Kevin Colbert became the team’s director of football operations in 2000. Part of the problem is their recent drafts. Many of them are among the Steelers’ seven worst drafts since 2000. Not every draft on this list was a bad one. This is just the …

The football world has descended upon Indianapolis this week for the 2014 NFL Scouting Combine. When all the bench presses, vertical leaps and 40-yard dash times for the 335 combine participants are recorded, the buildup to the 2014 NFL draft will kick into high gear. Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert, who began his scouting …

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a lot of decisions to make between now and the start of training camp. If too many of those decisions are the wrong decisions, they’ll be no better than a .500 football team for the third year in a row in 2014. Kevin Colbert, Mike Tomlin and the Rooneys can get …

What are the chances that Michael Sam could be in a Pittsburgh Steelers uniform next season? If the Steelers draft the Missouri defensive end, it wouldn’t be for the sake of having the NFL’s first openly gay player, it would be for the sake of an aging defense that declined rapidly in 2013. That brings …

Defense must be the theme of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2014 draft. They ranked 14th in the NFL in points allowed in 2013, their lowest since 2003, and 13th in yards allowed, their worst since 1992. The Steelers allowed 11 plays of 50 or more yards in 2013 after allowing three in 2011 and 2012 combined, …